Tag: YA

This Chicks Sunday Commentary: Uppercase Box Reveal- Aug’18

I’m a little late getting this post for August, sorry! This subscription usually comes in just a little bit after the 15th, but August is a super busy month! My husband’s birthday and a vacation threw me off my game. So finally (!), here is my Uppercase Box reveal for the month of August.

I get the super deluxe version of this subscription, so get a few bookish items along with my YA book surprise. For those of you who are Harry Potter fans, there was a cute little HP notebook included.

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I always love cute notecards, so the next bookish item was right up my alley!

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Sometimes Uppercase includes a cute jewelry item and this month there was a necklace included that gives a really HUGE clue on the book title for this month… Any guesses?

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Finally the book! As signed copy of Dance of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson.

Synopsis:

A stunning new adventure set in the kingdoms of the Remnant.

A formidable outlaw family that claims to be the first among nations.

A son destined to lead, thrust suddenly into power.

Three fierce young women of the Rahtan, the queen’s premier guard.

A legendary street thief leading a mission, determined to prove herself.

A dark secret that is a threat to the entire continent.

When outlaw leader meets reformed thief, a cat-and-mouse game of false moves ensues, bringing them intimately together in a battle that may cost them their lives—and their hearts.

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I have actually seen a few reviews on this book already and it looks pretty good! I’m looking forward to reading it, and of course, reviewing it too!

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What do you think about this month’s box?

Deb

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads2 Comments

Friday YA: The Way You Make Me Feel by Maurene Goo

Clara Shin is skimming through life having fun and playing practical jokes until one day at school one of those jokes goes a little too far. In order to get out of being suspended she is forced to work with her arch enemy Rose on her father’s food truck, the KoBra, for the summer, skipping her trip to Tulum with her mom. What starts off as torture turns into a summer of making new friends, discovering a lot about herself, and falling in love. She learns there is more to life than living on the surface. Life’s rewards come from caring deeply about the people around you even if you may run the risk of getting hurt.

At first Clara’s life with her single father dad, Adrian, didn’t seem to have any consequence. He was the cool parent, finding himself a father to a teenager while only 34 years old. Clara wasn’t the only person to grow in this book. Her father also saw that he wasn’t doing his daughter any favors by laughing at her antics. A little discipline, while hard for both of them, ended up proving to be the best thing for both of them, forcing them to deal with feelings that neither of them were comfortable sharing.

Clara’s friendship with Rose grows slowly and is really very sweet. Clara’s prior friends were two boys who egged her on in her unruly behavior. Rose was a very structured person and they ended up being the Yin to the others Yang. Perfect complements to each other. Hamlet, the boy Clara meets while working the food truck is totally different then the other boys she’s used to being around. While movie star handsome, he has an old school charm that makes his personality different than any one else. He is polite and her dad likes him for goodness sake! He pursues Clara and her shy uncertainty with this alien creature was very sweet. I enjoyed their growing relationship and was pleased that this author stayed true to the sweetness of their feelings by not advancing them into adulthood too quickly.

This was my first novel by Maurene Goo and I really liked it. It was so easy to read and I liked the growth all of the characters showed from beginning to end. She delivered her message in a way that didn’t preach, instead showed how Clara’s life improved by allowing herself to feel things. That’s a message that a person at any age can appreciate and understand. This was an Uppercase Box subscription book and was totally worth the money spent. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

The Way You

Click this link to purchase! The Way You Make Me Feel

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

I am an Amazon Associate and will receive a small stipend if you purchase through the above link.

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Friday YA: Mirage by Somaiya Daud

Amani, our 16 year old heroine receives facial tattoo’s that tell a story about her family’s history as well as attributes of her personality. When some robot type soldiers scan her face and take her hostage, I was intrigued. OK, this is a Moorish/Sci-fi book. Interesting! When Amani finds out why she has been taken, because she has features close enough to be their princesses body double I thought hmmm again. I’m not sure how this is all going to fit together. Even though at times I stopped to hmmm at the plot, I did think Samaiya Daud crafted a really interesting world.

As I read further the interesting bits seemed to fade away until I felt like I was reading another Alwyn Hamilton novel though not as exciting. A young woman finds herself in unfortunate circumstances and rises above her situation to take a stand against the evil empire and fall in love. Don’t get me wrong, it was an enjoyable story! It just felt kind of familiar. What wasn’t familiar was the science fiction aspect of it and I really wish that the feeling was more sci-fi than Moroccan? It was that that made this novel original, although I suppose a mash-up of the two hasn’t been done before.

Characters:

Amani was a nice solid heroine. Once she got past her circumstance she was determined to make a difference. I always like a heroine who doesn’t turn to mush when things get difficult. The Vathek is a conquering race who has subjugated the natives, slowly killing them off (sounds familiar to us Americans, doesn’t it?) and Amani wants to do her part to help stop them.

The evil Princess Maram, who’d had Amani kidnapped to be her stand in was the most interesting character. She was evil, anxious, and confused and her flaws made her interesting. As the story went on and we learned how sad her life was, she went from black and white 2D to full 3D technicolor. I wished that this book had been written from her POV instead of Amani’s.

Yes, there was also a love interest. Idris? Ilbis? I’ll be truthful, I couldn’t get Idris Elba out of my head and have smashed his name together in my head. Anyway, he was from one of the subjugated tribes, fated to be the sole survivor and marry the evil princess. Instead he hangs with her body double. You can guess what happens to that love triangle.

Did I love this book? No. Did I hate it? Definitely not! I just couldn’t get past some similarities to other novels I’d read and that kind of ruined it for me. If the pace had been a bit quicker, I might’ve enjoyed it a bit more. However, other readers have absolutely LOVED this novel. I say, read it and you be the judge!

❤️❤️❤️❣️

I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley for my honest review and it was honest.

MIrage

Click this link to purchase!* Mirage: A Novel

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate

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Friday YA: Ruin of Stars (Mask of Shadows #2) by Linsey Miller

When Mask of Shadow ended Sal had won the elite position of Opal, one of the Queen’s assasins. This enabled them to legally bring down and kill those responsible for the demise of Sal’s own country. As Sal investigates, they reveal the truth behind the missing children and uncover a surprising betrayal.

What I liked: Just as in Mask of Shadows, I really enjoyed Sal, a gender fluid individual and his romance with Elise. The battle for their country almost seemed to be about not only equality but also for gender rights. There was one scene where Elise describes how another Elena helped her tell her father that she was attracted to both boys and girls and that her feelings were normal. Sal was offended because they don’t think they’re either boy or girl, and Elise was simplifying the issue. I think this is the first time I had read a POV quite like Sal’s and it was eye opening and interesting.

What I didn’t like: Everything else. I LOVED Mask of Shadows. It was new and fresh, the competition to become Opal kept the story moving forward and the action was exciting. Ruin of Stars is an intrigue filled gloom fest. Too much political machinations and not enough character building emotion. Sal felt really flat! Sal’s PTSD from the childhood horror of losing their family came off as depression, lacked emotional depth, and bogged down the story. There were very few highs for Sal and a ton of lows. I don’t know, this one was really difficult for me to get through and I so wanted to love it!

I know there were a LOT of people who did love Mask of Shadows as much as I did. I gave it a five rating! Unfortunately, I can’t do the same with this sequel. I can only give it a three rating and I may be a little generous with that number. ❤️❤️❤️

Did you read this book? Did you like it? Please let me know because I’m feeling really let down.

I was given an ARC of this book through NetGalley for my honest review and it was honest.

Ruin of Stars

Click this link to purchase!*Ruin of Stars (Mask of Shadows)

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate

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Friday YA: The Art of French Kissing by Brianna R. Shrum

Carter’s whole future rely’s on her getting into and winning a cooking competition, a la Top Chef for high schoolers, and getting a full scholarship into cooking school. Carter grew up poor. She learned to cook out of desperation because her parents were just awful at it. Something that was kind of a burden became her joy and she wants to follow her dream to someday open her own restaurant. When she wins entrance into the competition she’s overjoyed and is determined to do anything to win. She meets cute fellow chef Reid Yamada on day one where he chooses to play unfairly in their first competition. They are immediate adversaries, but are they really?

The Art of French Kissing was a really fun, lighthearted novel. The author painted the landscape with diverse characters with varying personalities. I wasn’t sure how Carter and Reid were going to go from enemies to friends, but it seemed to take a natural course and through the pairing in the competitions they soon had to rely on each other to win instead of looking over their shoulder for sabotage. If I had one tiny bit of criticism, I’d say that I wish Carter had been a little more confident and less hateful? I felt like she was the reason they weren’t friends sooner and it irritated me a bit. That was a pretty minor point though and I did move past it.

I really need to mention that even though these are teenagers there are VERY adult topics and the two main characters do have sex. It is not graphic or anything but I was surprised because I didn’t think this story needed to go down that road. If they were in college I don’t think I would have thought twice. I am not the targeted age for YA and am not sure if this is ok or if my feelings are the norm…

I do love a good novel with food and this one definitely had me taking a trip to the kitchen for some snacks. The Art of French Kissing hit all my YA Contemporary buttons, food, fun and friendships so with the exception of that moment of “wha?” I liked this book. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

The Art

Click this link to purchase*! The Art of French Kissing

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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Friday YA: The Tower by Nicole Campbell

The Tower is a YA Contemporary novel that deals with friendship, love for your best friend, and the difficulties of being different in High School. The story revolves around three friends, Rowyn, Rose, and Reed who are approaching their Senior year in high school. The three of them have been best friends since birth growing up together in their small community, their mothers best friends. Reed has been in love with Rowyn since the fifth grade, and in the way of boys, he has hinted at his feelings but has never declared them, instead playing it safe and biding his time. Rose is the glue that binds their friendship together, sweet, fairy-like, and the voice of reason. This year of their lives is a time of change, the relationships between them tested. Will they end the year stronger for the challenges they face?

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The first thing you should know about this book is how great the characters have been developed. Each of the three main characters have a reason for being a part of the story. Having grown up in the witch community they are used to facing adversity. Name calling, hatred, and bigotry are a part of their daily lives, but each of them chooses to face it differently. Rowyn’s looks match her personality. She is the bold, forthright, doesn’t give a crap about what anyone thinks female heroine with the long black hair that is stereotypical of a Halloween witch. Rose is fairy-like, the peacemaker with a backbone, whose blonde looks and nice demeanor fool people into thinking she is a victim of circumstance. Reed is the charming, handsome guy who even though a witch, is non threatening and likable. Their friendship is what binds this story together.

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I found the fact that they were witches fascinating. They are not “magical” and don’t ride brooms or hover in the air or anything, although they do read tarot cards, make spells, and can heal spiritually. Each of them having a different talent. These talents are just a part of their characterizations and while their spirituality is within the story, the story does not revolve around witchcraft. I found that really refreshing in a book world where people having magical powers and saving the world is totally common. This story revolves around friendship, love and acceptance.

This novel was heartbreaking, heartwarming and heart filling. I probably went through a pack of tissue trying to deal with all of the emotions I was feeling as I read the story. The majority of the novel centered on Reed and Rowyn’s budding romance, but it was not all rainbows and butterfly’s. They had to overcome obstacles to somehow get to the point where they could be together, even though it seemed at the beginning of the book that it would be too easy. It was not.

Don’t let the idea of their being witches keep you from reading this book. It is a wonderful story about love and acceptance and I’d wish for each of you to pick this one up and give it a shot. Sometimes, I think I love a story because I’m in the right mood at the right time. I can honestly say that I didn’t know what to expect from The Tower and had zero expectations and it exceeded all of my imaginings.

I received an ARC of this book by the author for my honest review and it was honest.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

The Tower

Click this link to purchase!* The Tower

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate

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Friday YA: Love & Luck by Jenna Evans Welch

Addie and her brother Ian, only 15 months apart, have always been best siblings. You know, best friends except for the fact they are brother and sister, however currently Ian is super pissed at Addie. She has done something and he wants her to tell their mother before she finds out from someone else. Addie refuses. In Ireland for a wedding, Addie and her brother Ian continue this argument and fall down the side of a cliff. At a wedding. Her mother is at her wits end wanting to see the relationship between her two kids repaired, so she ships them off to Italy to visit with Addie’s friend Lina. Ian has other plans, and Addie, not wanting to be left behind is an unwanted visitor on a road trip around Ireland, hosted by Ian’s online friend Rowan.

Secrets between siblings, especially close ones, never turn out well. Addie’s secret had to do with a summer romance gone wrong which will be embarrassing to face, but Ian’s secret is a life altering change. When Addie finds out why they are traveling around Ireland she realizes that this brother that she loves so much has a secret life, and that she may not have known him as well as she thought.

Rowan, as the Irish lad who owns the car they are traveling in, also has his own little bit of personal drama. When Addie finds a travel guide for a broken heart in their hotel, Rowan decides that his heart could use a little mending as well. The two of them bond over their heartbreaks, and he also helps her see who Ian really is. Love & Luck wasn’t a very intriguing or even very dramatic story, but it’s message about family and loving someone for who they are and not who you think they are was well played.

Addie was your typical teen who doesn’t want to face up to her mistakes, but she grows up a lot by the end of the book. Rowan was a sweet guy, the perfect foil for Ian and Addie’s sibling antics. The romance between the two of them was only hinted at as the plot was about growing up and facing the consequences of your actions. Ian was my favorite character by far. He was the big surprise of the book, and in my mind should’ve been the main protagonist. His journey was the more interesting of  the two and a big lesson in not judging a book by it’s cover.

If you are looking for a light, easy to read YA contemporary novel, this is a solid hit and would be a great vacation read, especially if you have a trip planned to Ireland. I actually bought Love & Gelato last year because I had a trip planned to Italy, where it is set, but never got around to reading it. Now that I’ve tested the waters with this author (and those characters showed up in this book) I may move it onto my summer vacation reading list this year instead! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Love & Luck

Click this link to purchase! Love & Luck

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

I am an Amazon Associate and receive a small stipend if you purchase through clicking the above link.

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Friday YA: Geekerella by Ashley Poston

I love fairy tale re-tellings and Geekerella is a re-telling of one of the biggie’s. Ella is an orphan with a horrible stepmother and two stepsisters. They couldn’t be any more different. Ella is a bit of a nerd. She and her now deceased father shared a love for the show Starfield (think Star Trek) and would watch episodes for hours. Her stepmother is a country club snob and her stepsisters CC brats. I had forgotten how hard it was to watch Cinderella get treated so horribly in animation and I’ll just say that set in present time, that difficulty was doubled. Her step-everythings were just awful. Her only avenue of escape was to her job on the Magic Pumpkin food truck with her new friend Sage. There she dreams of going to Excelsicon the sci-fi comic con that her father started in Atlanta, but her step’s would never allow her to go. Scheme ensues.

I, too, am a bit of a geek when it comes to sci-fi, fantasy and comic cons. I grew up going to them and used to be able to walk the walk and talk the talk. This novel did get the Con part right. You do see people dressed in all sorts of fantasy gear. What fell a little short for me was the story between Ella and her Prince Charming, love interest Darien Freeman. Darien sends an accidental text to Ella’s cell, which used to be her fathers. They end up being pen pals (text pals?), never revealing too much about themselves yet telling each other their secrets. Ella never knew it was the famous actor on the other end of the line. Their stories are told from both of their perspectives and truly they both had pretty awful aspects to their lives. You know about Ella’s problems, but Darien’s were just as bad. His manager was his father who just took advantage and belittled him the whole time. Yuck. Really, I just wanted the two of them to be able to run away together and say “the hell with all this!”. This novel for me rode a fine line of child abuse and even when put in a fairy tale like setting it didn’t make it better. Even though there were cute parts, that aspect was just hard for me to overlook.

I know I am older than the average YA reader and most of these novels are not written for my age group. That being said, this novel was more juvenile than the characters ages. Sure, their decision making was pretty accurate. Teenagers make errors in judgement and these two made some big errors, but maybe the story was too simple? I can’t really put my finger on it. Geekerella was well written and at times playful, and I did like the walk down memory lane and maybe it didn’t ring all my bells, but that doesn’t mean it’s not for you! ❤️❤️❤️❣️

Did you read this book? What did you think?

Geekerella

Click this link to purchase*! Geekerella: A Fangirl Fairy Tale (Once Upon A Con)

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate

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This Chicks Sunday Commentary: Uppercase Box Reveal July ’18

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HI!  Yep, it’s that time of the month again…. NO, not THAT time, it’s time for our Uppercase Box reveal! Sheesh! As if I’d go down that road. This month when the package arrived I knew we had a big book or a ton of gifts. The package was pretty big and very heavy.

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I immediately noticed the change in bag design. Very clever! It looks like an envelope and the color scheme pops a little bit more than in the past. I like it!

On to the first bit of book swag. It’s a Reading is Magical unicorn key chain. Hmmm, I’m not really into key chains, so I’m sure I’ll pass this one off to one of my fellow bloggers who may like it better. The other item looks to be a little coin with a tree on it. Could this be a hint on which book arrived???

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The next bookish item in the bag was one that I really liked! It’s a cute book bag that says Adventure Starts Here. I have a ton of these bags and enjoy their catchy little sayings. I use them for work, take them to festivals, use them for shopping. They are multi purpose and also deliver a message about how wonderful reading a book can be. Adventure awaits!

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I was really excited to see which book came in the Uppercase Box this month. It had been on my radar and I’ve read a few good reviews about it.

SPINNING SILVER by Naomi Novik

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Synopsis:

A fresh and imaginative retelling of the Rumpelstiltskin fairy tale from the bestselling author of Uprooted, which was hailed as “a very enjoyable fantasy with the air of a modern classic” by The New York Times Book Review.

With the Nebula Award–winning Uprooted, Naomi Novik opened a brilliant new chapter in an already acclaimed career, delving into the magic of fairy tales to craft a love story that was both timeless and utterly of the now. Spinning Silver draws readers deeper into this glittering realm of fantasy, where the boundary between wonder and terror is thinner than a breath, and safety can be stolen as quickly as a kiss.

Miryem is the daughter and granddaughter of moneylenders, but her father’s inability to collect his debts has left his family on the edge of poverty—until Miryem takes matters into her own hands. Hardening her heart, the young woman sets out to claim what is owed and soon gains a reputation for being able to turn silver into gold.

When an ill-advised boast draws the attention of the king of the Staryk—grim fey creatures who seem more ice than flesh—Miryem’s fate, and that of two kingdoms, will be forever altered. Set an impossible challenge by the nameless king, Miryem unwittingly spins a web that draws in a peasant girl, Wanda, and the unhappy daughter of a local lord who plots to wed his child to the dashing young tsar.

But Tsar Mirnatius is not what he seems. And the secret he hides threatens to consume the lands of humans and Staryk alike. Torn between deadly choices, Miryem and her two unlikely allies embark on a desperate quest that will take them to the limits of sacrifice, power, and love.

Channeling the vibrant heart of myth and fairy tale, Spinning Silver weaves a multilayered, magical tapestry that readers will want to return to again and again.

For me, Fairy tale retellings are hit or miss, but this one looks really good and I can’t wait to read it! I will, of course, review it here on The Reading Chick!

Thanks for tuning in for my Uppercase Box reveal!

Deb

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Friday YA: Blog Tour! Watching You by Shannon Greenland

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Book details:
Watching You
by Shannon Greenland
Published by: Entangled Publishing
Publication date: July 2nd 2018
Genres: Thriller, Young Adult
Synopsis:
Viola’s always been that girl from thatfamily, so a scholarship to a prestigious private school in Florida was supposed to be her ticket out of poverty and into a brand-new life. But Viola’s secrets have followed her. Her relationship with the intelligent and gorgeous Riel should have been the salvation she needed—he understands her troubled past better than anyone. But then weird things start to happen.
Frightening messages.
Missing personal items.
The unsettling feeling that she’s being watched.
Viola’s never been one to give her trust easily, but she’ll need to trust in Riel if she’s going to survive her stalker. Because she’s not fighting for a new life anymore—she’s fighting to stay alive.

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REVIEW:

Viola was such a sympathetic character. She comes from a tough neighborhood, yet excels at school and has huge goals for herself. She wants to go to this exclusive private school and get into MIT so she can better herself and help her family. When the novel starts, we realize that even though she did get the scholarship that allowed her to get into private school, she may have not been quite as truthful as she should have to do it.

We meet her love interest Riel almost immediately. When Viola realizes that he was the previous scholarship recipient we know that their future relationship may have a big conflict to overcome. Before we even have to worry about that though, strange and scary things start to happen to Viola. Is it her past catching up to her? Or is this a new threat?

I thought the mystery was just as solid as the romance. I liked Riel a LOT. I wasn’t sure how they were going to overcome the whole I stole your scholarship plot line, but it definitely kept me reading. When it was apparent Viola had a stalker, I was totally surprised by who it was at the end. My only criticism was when the perspective changed at the beginning of each chapter to the stalker’s thoughts. It was cheesy and a little too dramatic? I think the book would’ve been just as good without those intro’s. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I was given an ARC of this book for an honest review and I was honest!

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GIVEAWAY!

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AUTHOR BIO:
Shannon Greenland is the award winning author of several novels including the teen spy series, THE SPECIALISTS, and the YA romances, THE SUMMER MY LIFE BEGAN and SHADOW OF A GIRL. She also writes thrillers under S. E. Green and lives off the coast of Florida with her very grouchy dog.
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